Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Poem for Older Adult Senior Communities

                               

                                               They know you, a bold executioner
                                               roaming their halls seeking humans
                                               to complete your pandemic purpose.
                                               Nights follow days in a quarantined
                                               existence of food, TV and hobbies.

                                              Thoughts of limited time increase
                                               survival of those determined to live.
                                               With distance, washing and masks,
                                               they wrestle with fear, while nearby
                                               victims scramble for scraps of life.

                                               Whispers saying, “She has the virus”
                                               and “He died yesterday” create new
                                               visions of people wracked with pain.
                                               Healthcare workers wearing full-body
                                               protection suits seem sinister, surreal,
                                               surprising in a place known as home.
                                               Posted photographs of deceased friends
                                               remind them of good times that will end.
                                               Their new normal is difficult, but doable.
                                               Mugged by history, they pray for peace.
                                                     
                                               © Frances Shani Parker


Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers. Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog Website: http://www.francesshaniparker.com/

Ground Zero Poem: Hotel Room View

Photo By Frances Shani Parker

Like many others, I felt compelled to visit Ground Zero in New York City after the September 11, 2001 terrorists’ attacks on the World Trade Center. I requested a hotel room with a view overlooking the excavation. An aura of heartache permeated the air, while numerous memorial displays comforted those who sought healing. After taking this picture, I wrote these poetic reflections:

Ground Zero

Scattered images of causalities,

thousands of love notes

blanket a former battlefield.

Whispered memories,

flowered tributes coax

closure of doors left ajar by trauma.

From my hotel window, I watch               

the Ground Zero real-time movie

of a 21st century grave excavation

where the World Trade Center

stood and fell, a kindling target

for terrorists’ fires.

Hills with human remains

transport like treasures

to a Staten Island landfill.

Conveyor trucks beep

warning chants of danger

to a world in global doom denial.

I view the sixteen-acre hole

in the heart of a grieving nation,

listen to victims’ voices

share their haunting horror:

“We fought to live and love

trapped in a fatal inferno,

marooned in a tomb of ruins.

We nursed at the breast of fear

until our spirits were free.”

© 2002 Frances Shani Parker

From Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions at many booksellers in America and other countries.
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Video Poem: “Pieces of Our Minds” (Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Hospice, Nursing Homes)

"Pieces of our Minds" is one of sixteen original poems included at the end of each chapter of my book "Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes.”

Dementia refers to a group of conditions that gradually destroy brain cells and lead to mental decline. Various conditions can cause dementia, but Alzheimer’s (Ahlz-high-merz) disease is the leading cause. There is no cure for patients with dementia, and eventually they need complete care. Their quality of life improves when they receive effective healthcare and support.

As a hospice volunteer in Detroit nursing homes, I learned that dementia is like a fluttering bee. I never knew when it would make honey or sting. I participated in adult fantasies often. An important lesson I learned is that I don’t know the extent of anyone’s mental boundaries. One thing I know for sure is that I visited their Oz weekly and became a better person.





Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”

Hospice and Nursing Home Poem: Hospice Volunteer Reflections

Over 400,000 hospice volunteers across America enhance life in patients’ days. This poem is from my book "Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes,” which includes an original poem after each chapter:

Reflections of a Hospice Volunteer

I leave my car and walk into a world with many fates.
The people live reality where three words dominate:
“Nostalgia” brings memories that make them question why.
“Delusions” create fantasies that often come alive.
“Anticipation” beckons the beginning of each day.
A visit, party, special news⎯what is on the way?

Sedonia tells me stories of how life used to be.
Many things seem different now. She’s almost ninety-three.
Moochie shields unseen friends he pledges to protect.
I wonder if he sees and hears the friends he manifests.

Dexter smiles and says with pride while waiting for his son,
“All my children visit me, and each is Number One.”
Pearl yells, “I want some cake, and bring it just for me!”
She thinks that I’m employed here. She sees me every week.

An empty bed reminds me that someone else has gone.
Next week, I’ll see someone new. Life’s cycle will go on.
Juan trails me through each room while planning his escape.
“I have somewhere to go,” he pleads. I stop him at the gate.

I leave this special world today with wisdom strong and rare,
Respecting every circumstance that brought each person there.
Our futures are unknown to us like roads with endless curves.
I drive away feeling good, happy that I served.

© Frances Shani Parker


You can hear me reciting this poem on YouTube.

Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Hospice and Nursing Home Poem: Inside Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease

This post includes the poem “Pieces of Our Minds” from my book "Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes.” Each chapter ends with an original poem.

Do you ever wonder what it might be like inside the minds of patients with dementia? I do. Dementia refers to a group of conditions that gradually destroy brain cells and lead to mental decline. Alzheimer’s (Ahlz-high-merz) disease is the leading cause. Most people who have the disease are over sixty-five, with eighty being the average age of diagnosis. There is no cure for patients with dementia, and they eventually need complete care.

As a hospice volunteer, I have spent many hours, individually and in groups, interacting with patients who have dementia. When I am with them, I consciously try to view the world from their perspectives. This helps me understand them better and interpret needs they can’t always verbalize. That process inspired me to write this poem:

Pieces of Our Minds

On the border, on the brink,
we shiver like quivering tears
swollen to fullness with distress,
reluctant to spill an excess.

Strapped in delusions
wondrous and weird, we ride
roller coasters of reality
through joy and fear.

On the brim, on the rim,
like balls circling in frustration,
we scramble for thoughts
lost in nets of uncertainty.

Invaded by memories,
peeping, creeping, weeping,
we laugh and cry to the
rhythm of nostalgia.

On the fringe, on the edge,
changing, adjusting, impacting,
we crave compassion in our
search for society’s sanctuary.

© Frances Shani Parker



You can hear me reciting this poem on YouTube.

Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Hospice and Nursing Home Poem: "World Champion"

It occurred to me that I’ve never shared one of my hospice volunteer poems with you. A mute patient, whose legs were amputated due to severe diabetes, inspired me to write this poem. Although he endured several close calls with death, he repeatedly overcame them until he eventually died. Observers couldn’t understand why he didn't give up sooner. Because he had no legs and was such a determined survivor, I viewed him as an Olympic marathon runner.

World Champion

Your bedridden body
wins survival marathons,
breaks records in life's
Olympic Games.
I touch your skeletal chest,
feel spirit of an aging heart
that outruns the Grim Reaper
in back-to-back wins.

Some pity your amputated legs,
anguished moans, unexpected
comebacks when death
competes with bare existence.
No one claps or cheers
for your personal-best pace
toward the final race
when you clear each hurdle.

They don't understand
why you won't give up
when you defend each challenge
to clock more blocks of time.
Your laps for life press onward
as you struggle to the finish,
grin like a World Champion
each time you grab the gold.

© Frances Shani Parker

Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog